Chapter 429: Chapter 413: Brother Takes Care of the Baby
As the year-end approached, everyone was immersed in the laziness of the holiday season. The shopkeepers from the West State Government Office and various businesses also sent over New Year gifts. After Fengyu reviewed each of them, she began preparing return gifts. Knowing that both Xie Xun and Xie Jue were present at the family estate, many officials from the government became restless, eager to pay a visit. They understood Fengyu’s personality, so they tactfully sought her permission beforehand.
Xie Jue disliked socializing and cherished his rare moments of rest, never deigning to engage with the officials. Xie Xun was even less likely to entertain them. Fengyu gently declined the enthusiastic requests from the officials to visit. She loved to sleep in and wake naturally, while Xie Jue and Xie Xun, after finishing their breakfast, would often take Ruyi out to play and wander around West State. West State City was already quite large, and with the population growing over the past two years, Fengyu had masterfully planned the city so that every district—east, south, west, and north—boasted its bustling hub, each with its distinct character.
City defenses were reinforced, and civilian management was exceptional. Every time Xie Jue visited West State, he loved to explore the city and later compile his observations into a book for the other states of the Twelve Provinces to emulate. Jiaozhou and Jinzhou had now become some of the best-governed cities out of the twelve provinces, thanks to such "homework copying". The other states were relatively underdeveloped, but even an agriculture-dominated region like Huangzhou had seen rapid growth. As long as a state had industries, cash crops, or core assets, its development accelerated swiftly.
Beyond recording West State’s development, Xie Jue’s favorite activity was taking Ruyi out wherever he went. Little Ruyi, who could now walk and mostly understand others’ speech, was at the peak of his curiosity. Frequent outings not only expanded his world but also made him less timid, nurturing a more cheerful and lively disposition. Even during his busy times in Jiaozhou, Xie Jue would ensure to take Ruyi out every few days, sometimes for strolls, other times for small excursions to the nearby mountains.
One spontaneous day, he even took Ruyi to Bei River to watch the sunset from a boat.
Xie Xun clicked his tongue in astonishment. One had to understand, his Second Brother was an extremely, extremely sedentary person. His Second Brother’s daily routine involved burning incense, sipping tea, playing chess, and reading—an aesthetic that leaned heavily towards the antique. He abhorred moving about. After battles, he would lock himself in his tent, and upon returning home, he preferred the solitude of his courtyard, relishing the tranquil life of a recluse.
And now, with Ruyi in the picture, he had shockingly become fond of strolling about.
"Little Ruyi, this really is a miracle!" After three consecutive days of aimless wandering together, Xie Xun felt as if his view of the world had been overturned. "Second Brother, doesn’t this tire you?"
"Tire me? Why would it?"
"When I first went to Ningzhou during peacetime and asked you to tour Ningzhou City with me, you refused nine times out of ten. Now, you’re escorting Ruyi on outings every single day? Doesn’t this bore you?" Xie Xun asked curiously. "Are you not annoyed?"
"How old are you? And how old is Ruyi?" Xie Jue replied. "The frontline is less than an hour’s ride from Ningzhou. Can’t you gallop over there by yourself to explore?"
"What’s the fun in going alone?"
"Aren’t Nuanyang and Feiying there to accompany you?"
"That’s completely different!"
"How so?"
Xie Xun: "..."
Fine. Apart from being gentle with Ruyi, his Second Brother was still as cold and unyielding as ever.
Ruyi, who had grown up in Jiaozhou and loved snowy days, wasn’t particularly afraid of the cold. While being carried by Xie Xun, he even stretched out his hands to catch snowflakes. Looking at the chubby and adorable Ruyi, Xie Xun couldn’t help but muse, "I think Ruyi is starting to look more and more like you."
"Really?" Xie Jue pinched Ruyi’s cheek, studied him closely, and reached a conclusion: "Nope, not at all!"
He wasn’t as round as Ruyi!
Ruyi, oblivious to the fact that his father found him unflattering, was still thrilled the moment Xie Jue touched him. He reached out, signaling for Xie Jue to hold him, but Xie Xun mischievously whisked him off to buy candied hawthorn skewers instead.
Ruyi quickly forgot his desire to be carried by his father and became enchanted by the prospect of candied hawthorn sticks. In West State winters, candied hawthorns were fruits coated in sugar syrup and naturally frozen into skewers. Though Xie Xun sometimes used maltose treats to amuse Ruyi, he wouldn’t let him indulge too often. Occasionally indulging him with candied hawthorns was harmless, so he didn’t object. However, to everyone’s surprise, Xie Xun bought five or six skewers, leaving the extras to bring back for Fengyu.
"Papa..." Ruyi, holding a skewer of candied hawthorns, stretched it towards Xie Jue, his round, glimmering eyes filled with affection. Despite his obvious reluctance to part with it, he generously offered the first bite to his father.
Xie Jue replied calmly, "Papa doesn’t eat this."
Ruyi gleefully took a bite of his own, but the cold weather caused the sticky syrup to cling to his tongue. Startled, Ruyi let out a loud wail, tears streaming down his cheeks. Xie Xun doubled over in laughter but quickly scrambled to pry Ruyi’s little tongue off the skewer, rescuing him from the sticky predicament. Tearfully, Ruyi stretched out his hands, demanding to be held by Xie Jue, and refused to go near the candied hawthorn skewer again.
Xie Jue: "..."
Xie Xun: "..."